I have always felt like I’m in a perpetual state of healing. What I mean by that is, I am constantly going through the motions of life, regenerating from any hurt that comes up and then repeating the cycle over again. It can feel exhausting at times to keep having to continuously repeat the cycle of healing, and it has left me wondering if I will ever get to this “fully healed” place that I long to be in. However, despite feeling this way, I have come to realize that being in a constant state of healing is not something that I should feel disappointed in myself for because, when you are continuously healing, you are being propelled upward in your growth as an individual.

I began looking at healing differently when I realized that something needed to change in the current season of my life. While doing some deep soul-searching, I realized that when it comes to healing, I cannot expect the process to be linear. Healing doesn’t happen to you in a straight line, it comes at you in a zigzag formation, with a lot of peaks and valleys that you have to maneuver through.

A lot of us think that healing should happen quickly, but when the healing process is rushed, do you experience true healing? No.

When you rush healing, all you are doing is making your “wound,” deeper, which is only going to cause you to have to experience a longer healing process. You can try covering up how you feel and pushing it to the side, only for it to hit you like a million bricks at a random time and place.

The zigzagginess of healing is how it is meant to happen, so don’t let it discourage you and make you think that you aren’t healing when you are faced with times of sadness or when old feelings get stirred up inside of you. You can still heal and feel sad. You can still heal and feel angry about the situation. You can still heal and not necessarily know what you should be doing at the moment.

I believe that the reason we want to rush the process of healing so badly is that truthfully, healing hurts. I know this from experience. Healing hurts; it’s hard, and at times it is extremely uncomfortable. I can’t think of anyone who willingly wants to go through hard times, hurt, and feeling uncomfortable, but trust me when I say this: Going through the process is worth it because you will come out of it a healed person that has grown from whatever you needed healing from.

Every good thing that is meant to happen in your life needs to take its time, so do not be scared to go through the process of healing, because your future self will thank your present self for doing all of the hard, but ultimately rewarding work that helped shape you into the person that you are growing to be, and it will be completely worth it in the end.